(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Day two on the journey to realizing a lifelong dream [1]
['Daily Kos Staff', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']
Date: 2022-07-26
Another day another stock photo. This one looks like it was taken from inside a mental institution, yikes.
This is a personal blog post. This post will have absolutely nothing to do with my place here at Daily Kos as a staff writer or as an expert in American political elections. I’m treating this as I would have treated my Tumblr in 2019. If you missed day one I recommend you take a second to rewind and start there, then come back and hang out with us.
If you’re stubborn and don’t like to read instructions the TLDR is that I am on the journey to realize a life-long dream of mine of going to film school...without the means to go to film school. What options does that leave me with? Building a curriculum for myself and being unconventional in the ways that I steer this journey of learning, creation, and dare I say it… self-discovery?
Hello to you on day two. As you can tell, day two is not July 25th but rather 12 am EST on July 27th. In order for this to be sustainable for me, I’m not going to punish myself for not being able to do these days every day. I have a job, a life, and am sadly only a mere mortal.
x Embedded Content
via GIPHY
On day one I mentioned that I would start building a curriculum for myself. I am now thinking that that may be too steep of an undertaking right off the bat. So let’s instead call this a learning outline.
Cara’s DIY Film School Learning Outline for August:
1. Using Sundance Collab: I discovered that the Sundance Institute, of Sundance Film Festival fame, has an entire database of classes, streaming events, and an online community available for (with the exception of some classes) free! I am starting with a free class titled 40 Days to Learn Film with Mark Cousins.
Have you ever wondered how cinema has the power to transport us to different places, times and realities? Join filmmaker and writer Mark Cousins on a 40-day journey to discover how we think about cinema and filmmaking. Created at the height of the pandemic, when we couldn't explore or travel freely, this video series is an interesting look at all the aspects of making movies including style, ideas, emotions, the language of cinema and how films cross artistic and cultural boundaries.
I’ll admit I have never heard of Mark Cousins. But this sounds like a low-lift fun place to start. I’ll show you my notes as I start the class on day three.
2. Watching movies…and writing about them. When I studied writing in college we were told over and over again that to be a good writer you must become a good reader. Quentin Tarantino once said that he did not go to film school he went to films. I’ve always been pretty good about maintaining a decently robust movie-watching habit. I log every new film I watch on Letterboxd and for the most part, keep up with the new releases that interest me. But I must confess that I find most writing about films from amateur film critics to be exhausting, pedantic, and generally… wildly uninteresting.
But this journey is not the place for judgment, least of all self-judgment! So I will bite the bullet and start writing more about the movies I see.
I am already an AMC stubs member ($25 a month for essentially unlimited movie-watching abilities at the theater) and am still the proud owner of a DVD/Blue Ray player and can order pretty much anything from my local library.
I saw Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, the new Thor movie, and Nope this past weekend. Look out for at least some dribbling on one of those films. (I did a very quick write-up about Everything Everywhere All At Once in April if you want to take a quick peek at that.)
3. Signing up to go to some type of movie talk-back or networking event and go by myself. I live in Washington DC and am privileged enough to be a $15 greyhound ticket/sleeping on a friend's couch away from NYC whenever I fancy. It’s a delicious luxury that I don’t take enough advantage of. I am lucky enough that opportunities abound for me to go to something film related in real life. I am adding the “by myself” stipulation because I really want to leave the door open for me to meet people on this journey. I’ve found that if I go with a friend or my partner I am far too engrossed in enjoying their company that I struggle to branch out or fully take in my surroundings.
That’s it. Three simple rules for the month of August. This weekend I am going to San Diego for a friend's wedding so if you live in the area or have visited often please let me know what I should check out while I’m there!
Also, if you have any recommendations on film lists I should go through, new releases I should see, or even live or virtual events that you think I should attend let me know below.
What have you watched lately that you’ve been loving? What’s something cool you’re doing this weekend? See you in the comments!
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/7/26/2112835/-Day-two-on-the-journey-to-realizing-a-lifelong-dream
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
